Love and Nightmares
by HBR5080
Summary: ALL HUMAN.  What would happen to Rose if she has to deal with the guilt of killing her brother?  And on top of that she has to deal with a new school, new friends, and the feelings she has for a hot, Russian exchange student. *Full Summary Inside*
1. Chapter 1

ALL HUMAN. What would happen to Rose if she has to deal with the guilt of killing her brother? And on top of that she has to deal with a new school, new friends, and the feelings she has for a hot, Russian exchange student. Will she forgive herself and explore those feelings or will they eat her up inside? And will her brother's murders come back for her…..again?

Disclaimer: I do not own most of the characters in this story. They are Richelle Mead's.

Chapter 1.

_I looked back at him. I could see the pain in his eyes and I could do nothing about it. I screamed at them to let him go. That they could have me. They laughed in my face. Until a few hours ago, I thought this would never happen to me or someone I knew. "Matt! Please leave him alone! Matt!"_

I sat up in my bed with tears running down my face. A dream only a dream. I sighed and got up out of bed to splash some water on my face.

I look at the girl in the mirror. Her eyes are bloodshot from crying, and she has bags under her eyes. She looked like she had given up on life. And in realty, she kinda had.

I gave myself one last looked before I headed back to my bed. I was surprised I hadn't woken Lissa and Christian up. Lissa normally would be the one to shake me awake from my nightmares. I laid back down on my bed to try and fall asleep since I had my first day of school today. _Great._

A new school. Lissa and Christian, her boyfriend, said it would be good to start fresh at a new school. I knew they were trying to help but I didn't want a new start.

God. I never knew how much I would miss that annoying brat of a brother. But then again it was my fault he died. He was the only family that I had had left.

I thank my parents every day that they made Lissa our guardian if anything happened to them. They died a few years back in a car crash. I was 16 while Matt was 14. He took it pretty hard. I knew we grew closer during that stressful and painful time in our lives. But it still didn't mean that he wasn't annoying and irritating either.

Two years had passed since that awful day when the police showed up at our house to tell us that our parents were dead. But life is never nice. I've learned that the hard way.

I looked at my alarm clock. It was about an hour before it was supposed to go off to wake me up. I sighed and decided to get ready for the day. I knew there was no way I was going back to sleep.

I took a shower and changed into my favorite jeans and a red V-neck t-shirt. I brushed through my dark brown hair and put it into a messy pony tail. No way was I dressing up. I looked at myself in the mirror.

Yeah. I looked like hell but at least I looked as put together as I could ever be anymore. I grabbed my keys and cell phone and headed downstairs.

Lissa was up of course. She was 21 and about 5'9. She was also super skinny with blond hair that went just past her shoulders. She looked like a goddess. I looked behind her to see Christian sitting at the table with a coffee in his hand.

He looked up at me when he noticed I had entered the room. He could always tell when I did. Something about how I made the room more depressing when I entered it.

"And here's sleeping beauty! I never thought she would be up this early!" was all he said. I glared at him. It was true. I normally spent all my time sleeping. And when I wasn't sleeping, I was either eating or working out in the gym in the basement.

He smiled into his coffee cup. His dark hair fell into his face. God how I hated him. Yes, he was nice when he wanted to be but most of the time he was an ass. He's lucky I haven't kicked him out the door.

Lissa's happiness is the only thing I really care about anymore. Sadly he makes her happy so he stays…for now at least.

"Here Rose. I made you French toast, just the way you like it." Lissa said as she handed me a plate piled with one of my favorite foods and syrup. Tons and tons of syrup.

"Thanks."

I sat down across from Christian. He was still smiling into his cup. I ignored him and started on my food. Man this was good but then again anything Lissa and Christian made was like heaven in your mouth.

"You ready for school?" I heard Lissa ask me as she sat down in the chair next to me. I just kept eating. She knew how I felt about going to school. She rolled her eyes at me and got up and left the room.

I don't know how I would have been able to get through these last few months without her. She's my best friend even though she's 3 years older than me.

I finished my French toast and put my plate in the sink. I checked the clock. Five minutes until we leave.

Ugh. I can't wait for this day to be over so I can just lay in my room. I looked at my right arm. When I'm around Lissa and Christian I half forget it's there. But I never totally forget. The scar going from my shoulder down to my wrist is one of the only reminders I have of that night.

I remember the pain I felt when I got that cut. It hurt so much. I remember almost passing out from the pain. But I didn't. I had to stay strong for Matt I couldn't let them hurt him…..

I shook my head to try and clear it from the memory. _You can't think about that now._ I yelled to myself.

"Rose! Come on! We gotta go if we're going to make it to the school on time!" Lissa yelled from the garage. I hadn't even heard her come down the stairs. Giving my head one last shake, I quickly run upstairs to grab a sweatshirt to cover up my arm. I did NOT feel like having people stare at it all day.

But then again, everyone's going to have to see it eventually. Might as well let it be today. I quick head to the kitchen and grab my backpack and shove the sweatshirt in it. I run out the garage to the waiting car with Lissa sitting in the driver's seat.

It takes about five minutes to get to the school. Everyone there is looking at us. Or well our car. How can they not? It's not every day you see a bright pink car.

Lissa pulls into a parking spot and we hop out of the car. And the stares begin I said to myself. I could see people looking at my arm. How could they not stare? It was ugly and if someone else had had a scar this bad, I would be staring too.

Lissa grabbed my hand and smiled down at me. We headed up to the school to go get my schedule. Ugh. This is going to be a long day.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

We walked into the office. It was busy, which seemed strange to me but I've only ever been to two other schools before. We walked up to the woman sitting at the front desk. She looked up and smiled. She was about 50, maybe a little older.

Lissa smiled back and asked if she could point us to the guidance office so we could pick up my schedule. She pointed us to a door to the left of her desk. Lissa thanked her as we headed over to the door. There was a sign on it that said "Come In!" There was also a big smily face next to it. Ewww. This person is going to be really cheerful. I made a face. Lissa glared at me as she opened up the door.

And man, was I right. This person was way too happy. She smiled the whole time as Lissa and her talked. But that wasn't what caught my attention. It was her back wall. The whole thing was covered in pictures. You couldn't even see any of the wall from waist up. I shivered.

I tuned in as soon as the women turned to address me. "Hi Rose. I'm Ms. Higley. I'll be your guidance counselor." I just gave a small smile. I did NOT like being in here with a million eyes staring at me.

"Here's your schedule. Your first class is on the second floor in room 310. Go out these doors and to your right is a staircase that you can take. If you need any help during the day ask any of your teachers or anyone you pass in the hallway." I nodded my head.

"Bye Rose. Have a good day. Try not to kill anyone." Lissa whispered to me as she pulled me into a hug. I hugged her back mentally wishing for her to take me with her. I left the office and headed to the stairs.

I looked at my schedule as I walked up to the second floor. I had science first. Well at least it's not history. I walked into the classroom and sat down in one of the seats near the back of the room. Everyone was staring at me but there wasn't much I could do. I rubbed the part of my scar that was near my wrist.

I didn't bother paying attention during the day. I just went to each class and stared at the floor or my scar. I was so happy when the last bell of the day rang. I grabbed my bag and walked out of my homeroom to go to the front of the school to wait for Lissa.

I guess I was daydreaming because I next thing I knew I ran into someone or well something. Owww, a wall since when was that there? I heard laughing behind me. I turned to face a group of girls about my age. I think I recognized the one talking. Mia I think her name is?

"She can't even watch where she walking. I heard she changed schools cause she got caught fucking the football team. But who in the world would want to do that? She so ugly and have you seen that scar? Please. I've seen hairless rats better looking than that." Just ignore her Rose. You've made it through the day without punching anyone's face in.

"I also heard that she killed her brother. They were walking home and I heard that she pulled a knife and slit his neck. I'm surprised she isn't in jail." Oh that girl better shut the fuck up or she won't see the next day. I continued walking. My hands were clenched and I'm sure I had my trade mark I'm-going-to-punch-someone face.

I left Mia and her friends there by the wall and started jumping down the steps. I didn't even notice when someone was walking next to me, I was too pissed off. I jumped a little when he said hi. I looked over at him. He was my age, with red hair and freckles on his nose. He was cute.

"Ummm. Hi. I just wanted to welcome you to the school." He said timidly. I gave him my first real smile of the day. "Thanks. You're the first person who's been welcoming. Well besides Ms. Higley." He laughed at this. "Yeah. She's very welcoming. Along with all her many pictures." "I'm sorry but it's not normal to have that many pictures. It was creeping me out being in there."

"Tell me 'bout it. I'm Mason by the way." "Rose." We continued walking to the parking lot out back. He was silent for a few seconds before asking, "Why don't you sit with me and my friends tomorrow at lunch…if you want to." "I'd love to. Thanks." I smiled at him as we reached the schools back doors.

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Rose." He exclaimed as we split ways. He was nice. At least I won't be sitting alone at lunch tomorrow. I walked over to Lissa's car and hopped into the passenger's seat.

"Well someone's in a good mood. Did you find a cute guy or two?" "No. Well kinda. He invited me to eat lunch with him and his friends tomorrow. I didn't really pay much attention today." She sighed at the last comment and shook her head.

We headed home. I was glad we were finally heading home. What Mia said was starting to bug me again. I just wanted to eat dinner, do my homework, and go to bed. I headed upstairs to my room to do the little bit of homework I had.

When I finished, I headed downstairs to eat dinner. I could smell it from upstairs. It was making my mouth water. The schools food doesn't even come close to anything Lissa and Christian make. BBQ chicken. Yum.

"How was school Rose?" Christian asked. It seemed like he wasn't going to be a smart ass so I decided to answer him. "Ehh. Boring. I didn't really pay much attention." He nodded his head. He didn't think school was worth it. He would have dropped out of high school if his parents would have let him.

I swallowed my food in record time. I still had to go work out. It was something I had started a few months after Matt died. I had felt helpless then and I hated it. I've worked out every day since I convinced Lissa to convert the basement into a gym. It made me feel better to know I was physically fit even if I wasn't mentally fit.

I changed into my workout shorts and a t-shirt and headed down to the gym. About two hours later I could barely walk, I was so tired. I headed up it my room to change out of my clothes. I fell into bed after switching my gym clothes for my favorite pjs. I silently hoped that I would be able to sleep a full night's sleep. I also knew it wasn't going to happen. I was constantly tormented by the night my brother died. That was all I ever dreamed about.

I closed my eyes and almost instantly fell into my nightmares.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3.

"_Let him go! Please! It's me you want not him! Just let him go! Please!" I screamed for the hundredth time tonight. My throat was sore from all the yelling but I couldn't just do nothing. I couldn't let Matt die. _

_I had tears streaming down my face. I looked back over at my brother. He was so pale. The blond haired man laughed at me again. He went over to Matt and put his knife to Matt's arm and drew another line down it. I could see Matt grimace but he was barley conscience. _

"_Please! Please just leave him alone!" I screamed as I pulled against the ropes that held my hands behind my back. "You want to get cut too girl? We'll see how much you want us to leave the boy alone."_

_He came towards me. The knife in his hand was red from Matt's blood. I could see it glint in the light. He stuck it against my shoulder. I hissed in pain. That hiss turned into a blood curdling scream as he dragged the blade repeatedly down my arm. God it hurts so much. Please make it stop. No. Let them hurt me. It's better than them hurting Matt. I screamed again…_

"Rose! Wake up!" My head shot up. I groaned in pain as I banged it on something hard. I looked over to the figure rubbing its head with its hand. Oh. It's just Christian. "Sorry." I murmured. "It's ok…..You were screaming again." I looked away. I still hadn't told Lissa and Christian what exactly happened that night. I didn't plan on telling them. It was hard enough reliving everything every night. I didn't want to talk about it while I was awake too.

"I'm fine. Thanks for waking me up." I whispered as I turned on my side so I didn't have to see the compassion in his eyes. "Sure. Try to get some more sleep it's still early." I nodded my head against my pillow. He stood there for another second before he left and shut the door behind him.

I rolled back over to look at my clock. Christian was right. It was about two in the morning. I rolled onto my back and groaned. There was no way I was going to be able to sleep. I decided to go down to the gym and jog on the treadmill for about two hours. I changed into the same shorts as yesterday but put on a sports bra on instead of the t-shirt.

When I was done I headed back upstairs to take a shower and get ready for the day. Oh yeah. School. I hopped into the shower and took my time since I had time to kill. I changed into skinny jeans and a purple t-shirt. I brushed my hair and decided to leave it down today.

I looked at the clock. Shit. I was running late. So much for me being early. I rushed down the stairs to the kitchen. A ham and cheese omelet was sitting on the table. Lissa and Christian weren't in there so I figured they were upstairs getting ready for the day.

I shoved my omelet in my mouth in a few bites. Having a big mouth was good for some things. I was just putting my plate in the sink when there was a knock at the front door. I wonder who that is. I opened the front door only to ambush the brown haired man standing there.

"Adrian! I missed you so much! Why didn't you call and tell us you were in town!" I exclaimed as I gave him another hug. He's also been around these past few years. We've grown real close but he has to leave town a lot so I barely see him. But when he is around, he always spends his free time here.

"Hey Rose. I've missed you too. Sorry I didn't call but I only just got here a few hours ago. I thought I'd surprise you guys. By the way, why are you up so early? Normally you're asleep."

I grimaced. "Lissa enrolled me into the school near here." "Oh man. I feel bad for you." Just like Christian, Adrian thought school was useless. I just grimaced again. Lissa chose that moment to come to the door. She squealed and gave Adrian a hug.

"Adrian! What a nice surprise! How was your last trip?"

"Fine, tiring but what do you expect?" I have no clue where or why Adrian leaves town so often. I've tried to get it out of Lissa and Adrian for years but they won't crack.

"Christian should be down any second. Come on Rose we have to go or you're going to be late."

"Can't I just stay home? I haven't seen Adrian for weeks." "No way. You're going. Grab your backpack and meet me in the car." She said to me.

"I can take her to school Lissa. It'll give us a few more minutes to catch up." Adrian suggested. "Fine, but you are to drop her off at school. Not to play hooky. Understand?" she pointed at both of us. We nodded sadly. I knew that was what Adrian had been planning we do.

Lissa gave me a hug. "Bye Rose. Have a good day." Adrian and I walked over to the car. I shivered a little. It was getting cold. This was going to be a cold winter if it was this cold in November. I hopped into the passenger's seat as Adrian turned on the car.

"Are you sure we can't play hooky?" I asked him. "Sorry Rose but I like my limbs." I laughed at this. Adrian could always make me laugh no matter how sad or depressed I was. We arrived at the school too soon for my liking. I sighed.

"Promise you'll be here to pick me up after?" "Promise. We can go get dinner together or something fun." I nodded my head and waved as he drove off. Well here we go.

I didn't pay much attention again but I did notice that Mason was in my morning classes so we sat together and talked when we could. Before I knew it, it was time for lunch. I was already hungry. What can I say? I ate a lot. I got my lunch and followed Mason to a table. He held out my chair for me. I smiled at him.

In a few minutes all the chairs, but one, were filled. It was fun listening to everyone. It was easy sitting here. I found myself laughing at jokes and comments that people made. They were all accepting and didn't even ask or stare at me. For that I was grateful and they were instantly in my good books. I didn't even notice when someone sat in the empty chair, I was laughing too hard at the joke Eddie Castle made.

I did see Mason stiffen though. The others were snickering. I looked questioningly at Mason. I looked at where he was staring. I had to work hard to keep my mouth closed. In front of me was the hottest guy I've ever seen. He had dark brown shoulder length hair that was tied back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. A few strands framed his face which made him that much hotter.

"Looks like you found another for your fan club Belikov." I heard Eddie say as he chuckled at my reaction. I abruptly looked down and blushed. "Rose this is Dimitri Belikov." I still hadn't raised my eyes to look at him. I felt bad I'd been checking out another guy while Mason was next to me. It was obvious that he liked me.

"Oh chill out Mase. You look like a statue." This raises a few laughs. Mason finally relaxed a little and smiled back at me as a looked at him. "Come on let's get to class or we're going to be late." One of Mason's friends said. I couldn't remember his name but he was the one who made the statue comment a few seconds ago. I said goodbye to them since I had different afternoon classes than them.

"Mind if I walk with you?"


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4.

"Mind if I walk with you?" I heard a voice say from behind me. I instantly froze. The voice had a strange effect on me. I had to work to keep myself from melting into a puddle. Yeah I've dated before but the guys were normally driven off by Matt. That was one of his more annoying qualities.

I could tell he had an accent. Maybe Russian? Yeah Russian. I turned around and slowly nodded my head. He was tall, maybe about 6'7? He had a foot of height on me. I was still embarrassed about getting caught staring at him so I focused my gaze on my feet.

"So how do you like the school so far?" I heard Dimitri ask.

"It's ok. I miss my old school but I'd rather not go back there." I still was looking at my feet.

"Why not?" "It's a long story." I really did not feel like explaining it. I still remember the glairs and whispers people gave me after I got out of the hospital. Barely anyone would talk to me. All my old friends started to ignore me and get fearful looks when I so much as passed them in the neighborhood. It was like everyone expected me to blow up at any moment.

"Sorry. I didn't want to make you uncomfortable. I was just curious." "No. No. You're not, trust me. It's just I've gone through some tough stuff this past year and I don't really like to talk about it." He nodded his head.

"Hey bitch! Can't you find someone else to take advantage of or are you so lonely that you need to try and seduce unavailable guys?" I instantly froze. Dimitri sighed next to me. We turned around as he said, "For the last time Tasha, we're not dating. I've told you that, how many times." I recognized this asshole from yesterday. She was one of Mia's friends.

Tasha just shrugged. "You'll be mine soon enough. You shouldn't be walking or talking to this whore. It'll affect your stellar reputation." My hands made fists. Oh yeah, I was getting real pissed. Before I could say anything Dimitri answered back, "You know as well as I do that I don't have a perfect reputation. If anyone should be worried about their reputation it should be you. And you shouldn't believe everything you hear in rumors. You of everyone should know that." She blushed.

"These aren't rumors. We got them from a good source." "What? Your favorite club or maybe even the shitty paper you and your friends write." She blushed again. "We'll continue this later." She glared at me one last time and blew a kiss at Dimitri as walked away. He shook his head as he said, "Come on. We're late for class."

I was still pissed but highly amused by their exchange. I wonder what Dimitri meant by Tasha not having a perfect reputation but then again who does.

We didn't say anything to each other as we walked into class. I didn't bother paying attention. I was too busy thinking about what Dimitri had said to Tasha-that you shouldn't believe everything rumors say. Maybe he was just curious or he wanted to spread new rumors but he didn't seem like that kind of person.

The rest of the day went by slowly. Like yesterday, I didn't pay attention. It was lonely without Mason with me to keep me entertained. Dimitri was in my afternoon classes but he didn't try to talk to me again.

When the afternoon bell went off, I was sprinting down the stairs. I couldn't wait to spend time with Adrian. I ran out the school's front door and stood by the curb to look for Adrian's car. I didn't see it. Well that wasn't weird. Adrian was normally late for everything. I sighed and sat down.

"Do you need a ride?" I heard someone ask. I quickly turned my head. Dimitri stood behind me looking amused. It was then that I noticed how brown his eyes were. I swear I could jump right into them. I shook my head to stop staring. "No. I'm good I'm just waiting for someone."

"Mind if I sit and wait with you then?" "Go ahead but I'm going to warn you, he's normally late." He laughed a little bit at that.

"So where are you from?" I asked. I didn't like silences. They make me feel weird. "Russia. My family still lives there. I miss them but they wanted me to come here and get a good education." I nodded my head. "What about your family?"

I looked down. "My parents died two years ago in a car crash. The only family I had left was my brother. He died about nine months ago."

"I'm sorry. It must be hard to lose your whole family." "Well I didn't lose all of my family. My mom's best friend's daughter is my guardian. She's my best friend. I don't know what I would do without her. She basically is my family." He nodded his head. He looked thoughtful as he sat there thinking about what I had just said.

"And then there's her fiancé. He's a total ass but he's kind when he wants to be." He chuckled at this. "I know what you mean. My sisters are the same way." Now it was my turn to laugh.

"How many sisters do you have?" "Three." He said as he smirked at me. I guess I had a funny look on my face cause he started smiling again.

"Three? I wouldn't be able to live with that. And I thought having one brother was bad." His smile grew. "Yeah it can get pretty hectic sometimes. We get on each other's nerves but at the end of the day we're always happy to have each other's company." I nodded my head. That was how it used to be with my family. Dimitri, sensing my depressing mood, tilted my head back up.

"Sorry. I wasn't trying to make you sad or anything." He was searching my face. It was hard to focus when he was staring at me so intently. I found myself getting lost in his eyes again. It was like they were caressing me. His hand that he used to tilt up my head slowly moved to the side of my face. I leaned into it and I closed my eyes. God, it was so warm and it felt heavenly. It wasn't soft like most people's but was calloused from what seemed like years of work.

I heard someone clear their throat. I jumped and pulled back to look at the throat-clearer. Adrian-for once I didn't want him here. I wanted to spend time with Dimitri but I did really miss him. I sighed and stood up. Dimitri did the same.

"Are you ready to go Rose?" Adrian asked as he eyed Dimitri. He didn't look to happy. I knew Adrian like liked me but I knew he wouldn't act on those emotions since he knew I didn't like him that way.

"Yeah. Just give me a second. I'll meet you at the car." He nodded his head. He still looked uneasily at Dimitri. He gave him one last cold stare before walking back to the car. I turned back to Dimitri. He was staring at Adrian the same way he had been staring at him. I was a little embarrassed to have been leaning into his hand. I didn't even know if he liked me. I looked down at the ground again.

"I've got to go. I guess I'll see you tomorrow." He tilted my head back up like he had before. "Definitely. See you tomorrow Rose." He smiled at me one last time and walked over to a car and hopped in.

I watched him drive away. When I couldn't see the car anymore, I went to Adrian's car and climbed into the passenger's seat. Thank god, Adrian was back to his normal self. I hated it when he was like that.

"So what to do want to do today Rose?"

"Well-"


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5.

We got back around 8. I was still laughing from dinner with Adrian. He had been eating desert and he got the whipped cream from his pie on his nose. He looked so hilarious! I still couldn't stop giggling.

"Hey guys. Did you have fun?" I heard Lissa yell from the kitchen. "Yeah. We did. You should have seen Adrian at dinner." I yelled back. We started giggling again. "I don't even want to know what he did." Christian muttered as we walked into the kitchen. Adrian and I rolled our eyes.

"It was nothing bad. Just some stupid stuff." Adrian smiled his lazy grin at him. Christian narrowed his eyes. I rolled my eyes at them both as I headed up stairs to do my homework.

After I finished, I decided to go to bed early. I didn't bother going to the basement to work out since I did that this morning. I lay down on my bed and stared at the ceiling. What happened with Dimitri had crossed my mind a few times when I was with Adrian but I had quickly pushed them away. I rolled on my side and slowly fell into my living nightmare.

_Wow. That movie was so stupid I can't believe I let Matt talk me into seeing it. I sighed. Oh well. At least I did something tonight so Lissa won't be bothering me to get out of the house. I glanced at my brother. He seemed nervous, and he kept looking behind us._

"_What's the matter?" I asked him. "I think we're being followed." He whispered to me. I quickly looked around us. I had high heels on. There was no way I was going to be able to run if we needed to._

"_Hey baby. Why don't you come over here and take a seat in my car?" I heard a man's voice ask in the alley next to us. "Uhh-no thanks I'm good." "Are you sure? We could have a real good time." _

"_She said no." Matt told him as he stepped in front of me. I knew he sensed something sinister about this guy like I did. The man walked towards us. He grabbed Matt and put a knife to his throat. "Get in the car." I looked at my brother. I could see he was terrified but he did a good job of hiding it. I nodded my head. I climbed into the car as the man shoved Matt down next to me._

"_Don't move or make a sound." Said another man. He was blond and about twenty fiveish. I was scared. The two men shut the back doors of the car and climbed into the front seats. They drove in silence. We'll be okay I kept repeating to myself. Lissa will realize something's happened and call the police. They'll find us before something bad happens._

_We drove for about thirty minutes. I kept looking for something I could use as a weapon but the guys had taken my purse after we started driving. I looked at the car's floor for the millionth time to see if I missed something. I hadn't. _

_Four hours later._

"_Please. Just let us go. Or at least let Matt go! Please!" I yelled at the blond haired man again._

"Rose! Rose! Wake up! It's just a dream!" I sat up quickly. I knew who woke me up. I didn't need to look over at him to know he was worried about me.

I was surprised Adrian was the one to wake me up. He normally slept like a log. You had to dump water on his face to get him out of bed before 12. I really had to have been screaming.

"Are you ok?" I nodded my head. He scoffed. "No you're not. I can tell just by looking at you. If you were fine you would be looking me in the eyes instead of staring at your hands. And you wouldn't be drenched in sweat." I hadn't even noticed. I _was_ soaked in sweat. Damn.

"I'm _fine_! Just please go Adrian. Please." He didn't move. "You were dreaming about that night again weren't you?" He took my silence as a yes. "Rose! You can't keep beating yourself up over this! It wasn't your fault!"

"YES IT WAS! THAT'S WHAT NO ONE GETS! IT'S _MY_ FAULT MATT'S DEAD! MINE!" I yelled at him. I couldn't take talking about this with him. With anyone. I ran out of my room with tears streaming down my face.

I didn't pay attention to where I was going. All I knew was I had to get out of the house and away from Adrian and Lissa and Christian. They cared about me, but they didn't get that it was my fault that Matt died. And that I was the one to kill him. Intentionally or not.

I kept running and running. I didn't realize where my feet had taken me until I was right on top of it. I was at one of my favorite spots in the world. It was a small park. Small but beautiful. Everywhere you looked there were flowers and trees. Barely anyone knew it was here anymore.

Before Matt had died, we would always come here to talk. We would talk about our family and how much we missed them. How school or how some other stupid thing was going. Now I came here to remember those moments when we just together. I would always remember how much I missed those moments when it was just the two of us.

Fresh tears escaped down my face. It always hurt to come here and remember those memories but I felt that if I didn't come here and remember them, then I would lose what I had left of Matt.

I fell to my knees as I put my face in my hands. "Oh god, Matt. I'm sorry, so sorry. I should have tried harder. I should have been stronger." I leaned my head back to look at what was left of the stars.

My dad had always said that after a person died, their soul would become one of the stars in the sky. And that the moon was a goddess and if you looked hard enough at it, then it would show you to your family members. I had believed him before and after he and mom died. But after Matt went too, I didn't-_don't_-believe anymore.

The tears were still streaming down my face. I could see that the sun was coming up. And that I had school soon, but I didn't want to leave. I wanted to stay here and melt into the ground. I wanted to stay in my memories of happier times. But most of all, I wanted Matt back.

"Rose? What are you doing here?" I jumped and quickly turned around and looked into dark brown eyes.

**Sorry I haven't updated in a few days. Between homework and reading Last Sacrifice I didn't really have a lot of free time. I know this chapter didn't really have a lot in it but, the next one will have Dimitri-Adrian drama. It should be up later tonight or early tomorrow morning around 9ish. Probably tonight though. If you want something to happen just tell me and I'll see if I can make it fit somewhere. Thanks to the people who reviewed. They mean a lot!**

**-HBR5080**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Rose? What are you doing here?" I jumped and quickly turned around and looked into dark brown eyes. _Dimitri._ I shivered inside with pleasure from looking into his eyes. I took a step back while I quickly brushed the tears from my face. Even though I had only known him for a few hours, I didn't want him to see me crying.

"Hey. Are you ok?" he took a step towards me. I just nodded my head and looked down as I tried to stop crying. _Fuck!_ Why did I have to run into someone while I was at my worst?

"Rose?" he asked me hesitantly. He tilted my head up so I looked him in the eyes. They were filled with compassion and worry as he slowly reached up to brush away some of the tears. I couldn't stop looking in his eyes. They were so…something. I couldn't even think of the right word to describe them. Again, I got the feeling that I could jump right into them. He slowly smiled as the tears finally stopped.

"Are you ok now?" I just shook my head as the tears sprang to my eyes again. He pulled me into a hug. I held onto him as tight as I could as I let the sobs out. The whole time he just kept repeating something in Russian that I couldn't understand. But it comforted me.

I wasn't sure how long we stood there like that, Dimitri holding me as he slowly rocked back in forth. Even when I was done crying he still did. I had barely known this guy for a few hours, and yet I felt closer to him than I had to anyone in a while.

Was I falling for him? I pushed that thought from my mind. I had enough to think about right now and I didn't want to add this.

"You can let go of me now." I said to him. "Hmm. True. I could." I looked up at his face. He was smiling at me. I smiled back as I stepped out of his arms. He didn't seem very happy that I did.

"We have to go to school." Was all I said to him. He looked sheepish. "Well umm. About that. It's uhh….kinda noon." I started at him wide eyed. "NOON! FUCK! Lissa's probably freaking out and I'm gonna be in so much trouble." I started pacing. And then I stopped and sighed. "Well there's nothing we can do now."

"Sorry. You were just really upset and I didn't want to bother you and the time just-"

"Stop. It's ok. Really. You wouldn't happen to have a phone I could borrow would you?" He nodded his head. "Yeah but its back at my place." I swallowed but nodded. His place. I was embarrassed to say the least about how I broke down in front of him, but he didn't look like he was going to bring it up.

We started walking back through the trees in the opposite direction that I came here from. We didn't talk but he stayed by my side. I think he thought that if he moved to far away, I would break down in tears again.

After walking for about ten minutes a small house came into view. It was a light blue with white shutters. It wasn't what I expected Dimitri to be living in. We walked up to the front door and walked inside the house.

We walked though a small hallway that led to the family room. It was cozy and had a lived in feel. I'd always loved small houses. We kept walking into what looked like the kitchen.

"The phone's next to the fridge." He said as he went over to some cabinets and started pulling out some bread. I walked over to the phone and dialed Lissa's number. And then I waited.

"Adrian? Did you find her? Oh please tell me you did!" Lissa screamed into the phone. "Calm down Liss. It's me. I'm fine."

"Rose! Oh thank god! You have no idea how scared I've been! I thought that you'd been taken again! Please don't do that to me. You have no idea-" I couldn't understand her after that. She was crying to hard. My heart broke. I hated hearing Lissa cry. I really did.

"Lissa calm down. I'm sorry. I really am. Please just calm down. Ok?" I heard sniffing on the other end of the line. "Ok. Where are you? I need to call Adrian and tell him where to-"

"No! Please not Adrian. If he's the one to pick me up he'll want to talk about this morning. Please Lissa. Not him." I hated how scared I sounded but I really didn't want to talk about this morning. "Ok but-"

"I can take you home." I heard Dimitri whisper in my ear. I jumped. I hadn't even heard him come over. It was then that I noticed how close he was. I could smell his aftershave and it was heavenly. I looked into his eyes and slowly shook my head yes. He smiled. I tuned back to what Lissa was saying,

"-be there in a few minutes. Now where are you?" she demanded. "Umm I actually have a ride." "In god's name who!"

"He's a friend from school. I'm actually using his phone right now. I'll be home soon. Love you. Bye!" I hung up the phone before she could object. I sighed and leaned against the fridge. As if to mock me my stomach growled. Dimitri laughed and handed me a grilled cheese sandwich.

"Here. I thought you'd be hungry. Apparently I was right." I glared at him and his smile got even bigger. We ate in silence. When we finished, Dimitri grabbed his car keys and we left through the front door. It was about a ten minute drive back to Lissa's. I couldn't believe what Dimitri had playing in the car.

"The '80s! Really Dimitri. Can't we listen to something that was made after we were born?" He laughed. "No way. I love the '80s." I hmphed, which just made his smiled bigger. I rolled my eyes.

The car ride back to Lissa's was too short in my opinion. I really did want to spend the day with Dimitri. He kept me distracted from all my problems, and as much as it felt weird to me, I liked being around him.

Was I falling for him?

Again that thought popped into my mind. But I quickly pushed it away. I had only known him for a short amount of time. No way was I thinking about that now.

He pulled into the driveway and turned off the car. We sat in silence for about a minute before I spoke up.

"Do you want to come inside? Lissa won't mind." I looked hopefully over at him. He smiled and nodded his head. My heart fluttered a little. I smiled back as we exited the car. We walked up to the door and just as I was about to open it, it opened from the other side and I was instantly enveloped into a hug. Though it wasn't who I expected it to be.

I hadn't even noticed Adrian's car in front of the house, but Lissa would have told him that I was safe and that I would be getting home soon. I would have expected her to be the one at the door waiting for me, since it's something she'd do. But nope. Adrian had been the one waiting at the door.

"Rose! Thank god you're ok! I was so worried. You have no idea. I thought they had taken you again." He said to me. He was still hugging me, and I was starting to find it hard to breathe.

"Can't-breathe." I managed to gasp out. "Sorry." He said as he released me. He looked at me sheepishly. That was when he finally noticed Dimitri. His gaze instantly turned cold as he studied Dimitri like he had yesterday. Dimitri also had the same cold stare as he sized up Adrian. I could probably cut the tension between the two with a knife.

"Rose. What is _he_ doing here?"


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7.

"Rose. What is _he_ doing here?" Adrian asked me. He didn't even bother taking his eyes off Dimitri to ask me. _Men_.

"He gave me a ride. Now move before I kick your ass out of the way." Now that got him to smile. He still had the same cold stare for Dimitri, but at least he moved. I looked back at Dimitri. He looked back and smiled. After I walked into the house Adrian started to shut the door on Dimitri.

"Adrian! He's coming in." Adrian gave me a pained look but he opened the door back up. Dimitri and him gave each other another cold stare. I smacked Adrian on the back of the head as I passed him. I smiled happily as I heard an "Oww" come from him.

I walked into the kitchen with Dimitri and Adrian on my heels. They were still eyeing each other. I rolled my eyes at them. I headed over to the fridge to get something to drink.

"Dimitri, do u want anything to drink. We have water, Mtn. Dew, Dr. Pepper, and lemonade." "Dr. Pepper is fine." I heard him say from behind me. I grabbed a Dr. Pepper for him and a Mtn. Dew for me.

"Rose!" I heard before I was squished into another hug. I made a small oomph noise since I was basically slammed into. Lissa hugged me as tight as Adrian had.

"Thank god you're ok! I was so worried. I thought you'd been kidnapped again!" I was going to be losing brain cells if people kept hugging me like this. Thankfully Lissa released me. "I told you earlier I was fine. I just needed to be alone."

"Well obviously you weren't alone." I heard Adrian mutter as he gave Dimitri a glare. Christian entered the kitchen just then. He came over to me and gave me a small hug. He whispered in my ear, "I'm glad you're ok." I nodded my head slightly. He gave me a smirk before sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of water and his laptop.

I took a sip of my soda before deciding I was going to go upstairs and take Dimitri with me. I couldn't take it much longer if those two kept glaring at each other.

"I'm heading upstairs. Your welcome to come Dimitri." He smiled at me and nodded his head. We left the kitchen and headed up to my room. Thankfully, it wasn't much of a mess. The sheets on my bed were twisted and shoes were all around the place but that was it.

"I'm gonna take a quick shower, if you don't mind." I glanced at him. "Sure go ahead. I'll wait here." He said as he sat cross legged on the bed. It amazed me how someone so tall could do that gracefully. I quickly grabbed a change of clothes and a towel and headed to the bathroom.

I took a quick shower, for me at least. I normally took 30-45 minute showers, while this shower was about ten minutes. I quickly brushed through my hair and put it into a ponytail to keep it out of my face. I looked at my reflection. Yeah, I looked awful from all the crying I'd done today but I could see a little hope shining in my eyes. I smiled at myself.

I looked at the clock. It said 3:30. I checked it again. The time had flown by today. I walked out of the bathroom and headed back to my room.

True to his word, he was still sitting on my bed. He smiled as I came over and sat next to him on the bed. We didn't say anything for a few minutes. He finally broke the silence.

"What did Lissa mean by 'kidnapped again'?" I looked down. This was not something I wanted to talk about, but I felt comfortable telling him.

"My brother and I were walking home from a movie. We took the back way home because I had high-heels on and I didn't want to take the longer way. You have to pass through some not so nice places if you go that way. Two guys jumped us and took us to a building and tortured us there. Matt," my voice cracked when I said his name. I took a deep breath and continued, "Matt didn't make it." I started rubbing my scar. Whenever I talked about that night, I would remember the feel of the knife biting into my skin and the pain of seeing my brother die.

"It's my fault he died. If I would have just sucked up walking home the longer way, he would still be alive." My voice cracked again. The tears started falling freely again. How much could one person cry in one day?

Dimitri didn't say anything. All he did was wrap his arms around me and pull me onto his lap. I started sobbing into his shirt like I had done this morning. A knock on the door brought me back to reality.

I quickly tried to pull out of his arms but he held me tight. "Come in!" Dimitri yelled. I was still trying to stop the tears. I was glad he wouldn't let me go. I looked over towards the door. Adrian was the one standing there. He did NOT look happy.

"Hey Adrian." I gave him a small smile as I leaned back into Dimitri's arms. The tears had stopped, thankfully. I felt so safe and protected.

Dimitri had gone ridged and was looking at Adrian with a look that said try to get me to move and you'll regret it. Oh great. Now Adrian's face was turning a bright red. I could tell it was going to be one of those rare times that he yelled. I groaned.

"Adrian, please calm down." "Calm down! You're sitting in his lap and you've barley known him for a day!" His face was even redder. It looked like he wanted to strangle Dimitri right there and then.

"He's not a creeper Adrian! Does it look like he's trying to take advantage of me?" I yelled right back. I hated fighting with him, but there was no way I was backing down on this. He was jealous and that was the only reason he was flipping out about this.

"You shouldn't trust people you've only known for a day Rose! You know nothing about him!" He took a few more steps into my room. I did not feel like talking to him about this. I was too tired from all the crying.

"Get out Adrian. I mean it. Get out." My voice was so cold and deadly I saw him rear back as if I had slapped him. I put on my scariest glare and he backed up. He gave me a look that said we weren't done talking about this as he walked out the room.

The glare disappeared as soon as he was out the door. I hadn't even realized my back had gone ridged. I slumped back into Dimitri's arms. Adrian was right though. I didn't know him very well. But in this moment I didn't care I just wanted to stay right here. I snuggled closer to him and he relaxed.

"I'm sorry about Adrian. He's normally not like that." I looked up at him and gave him a small smile. "It's ok. I understand why he did what he did. I would probably do the same with my sisters." He looked down at me and smiled.

I looked into his eyes and was instantly swept away. The house probably could have caught fire and I wouldn't have noticed. It was only me and Dimitri in this moment. I looked at his lips, silently wishing he would kiss me. As if reading my mind he slowly brought his head down until our lips were an inch an apart.

Was he going to kiss me?

**Thanks for all the reviews! I'm glad you all love this. I'll try to get the next chapter up later tonight or tomorrow. I promise. Again thanks for all the reviews and as I said earlier, if you have something that you want to happen just tell me I'll to see if I can fit it in somewhere. Love you all!**

**-HBR5080**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8.

Was he going to kiss me? That was the only thought going through my head. I looked into his eyes. He leaned down and our lips met.

I had kissed many guys from my old school. But none of those kisses had been like this. As soon as our lips had touched, I felt a spark. Our lips moved in sync. I never wanted him to let me go. _Wait! You've only known his for a day!_ I pulled back quickly and looked down. "Sorry. I didn't mean for that to happen." He said. I nodded my head. Did he not want to kiss me?

"Do you want me to leave?" Dimitri asked. "No!" I yelled. He smiled and leaned us back so we were against the headboard. We didn't talk or move as we sat there.

"Hey Rose! Dinner's ready!" I heard Lissa yell from downstairs. I sighed and sat up. "I'd better go." Dimitri said to me. "Can't you stay for dinner?" He shook his head.

"I can't. Not tonight. My roommates will be worried if I don't get back soon." I nodded my head sadly. "Some other time though. I promise." I smiled and nodded.

We left my room and headed downstairs. "I'll be back in in a minute." I told Lissa as we walked past the kitchen. We walked out to his car. "I'll see you tomorrow right?" he asked me. I nodded my head. He was just about to climb into his car when I grabbed his hand.

"Wait." He turned around. "Thank you for staying with me this morning." "No problem." He smiled at me. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Dinner was uncomfortable. Adrian wouldn't look at me and Lissa and Christian talked about everything but the fight. I knew that they had to have heard it. When all the dishes were cleaned, I headed back upstairs to change into my gym clothes.

After running and lifting a few weights I headed back upstairs and got changed into my pjs. Great. Another nightmare filled night. I curled up in my bed and shoved my face in my pillow and breathed deep. Mmmm. I could smell Dimitri's aftershave on it yet. The kiss came flooding back into my mind.

Did he not want to kiss me? Did he not like me and was just pretending too?

Those two thoughts kept circulating in my head, until like every night, I fell into my nightmares.

_Beep. Beep. Beep. What the hell is that beeping noise? It's starting to piss me off. I slowly opened my eyes to a clean white room. I looked down at my left arm. There was a needle stuck in it. Why the hell is that there and where am I? I looked to my right and saw Lissa slumped in a chair, fast asleep._

"_Lissa. Lissa!" I yelled at her. "Rose? Oh thank god you're awake!" she said as she ran over and gave me a hug. "What happened? Why am I here?" I looked at her. Her face fell. "You don't remember anything do you?" She looked down at my right arm. I followed her eyes. It was covered in bandages. Slowly, oh so slowly, the memories from the night before came back to me. My eyes filled with tears that slowly ran down my face._

"_Matt. Oh god. Matt." I started bawling then. I couldn't hold it together. I killed him. It kept repeating over and over in my head. "Nurse!" I heard Lissa yell. I didn't pay any attention though. "Matt. I'm sorry. So sorry." I kept repeating over and over out loud between sobs. _

_I felt a jab in my left arm and my cries started getting softer and softer until they stopped. I killed him. I slowly fell into blackness._

I sat up quickly. Again the tears were streaming down my face. I got up out of bed to splash some water on my face. I shuffled back to my bed. I was so tired but I didn't want to go back asleep. I didn't want to deal with the memories of that night. I got back out of bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen.

I was surprised to find Adrian awake eating a donut. It was only four. It was kind of creepy to find him awake this early. I yawned as I grabbed a chocolate glazed donut and sat down across from him.

"What are you doing up this early. It's not normal Adrian behavior to be up this early." I said to him with a smile on my face. He grinned back at me. "Couldn't sleep. I came down to grab something to eat before heading back to sleep." My smile increased. Typical Adrian.

"I also wanted to be up before you left for school." "What you want to escort me to school again?" I was still smiling at him.

"No way. I gotta catch up on my beauty sleep." I bursted out laughing. He sighed. "I also wanted to apologize for the way I acted yesterday. I shouldn't have flipped out like I did. Just be careful. I don't want to see you get hurt." I leaned over the table and gave him a hug.

"Thanks Adrian. But were not together. He's just a friend." "Ok. Just still be careful." I looked over at the clock. _Shit_. I was going to be late if I didn't hurry. I quickly shoved the rest of my donut in my mouth and headed upstairs to take a quick shower.

I quickly shoved my hair into a ponytail. I put a little bit of makeup on to try to cover up the black circles under my eyes. I looked into the mirror. I looked nice. The purple t-shirt made my brown eyes stand out.

I grabbed my phone and backpack and headed downstairs. Adrian wasn't in the kitchen, so I guessed that he was upstairs sleeping. A smile appeared on my face at the thought. Lissa was there though.

"You ready? We've got to go in a few minutes or we're going to be late." I headed over to the table to grab another donut that I quickly shoved down my throat.

"Can you go start up the car, Rose? I'll be out in a minute!" Lissa yelled as she started up the stairs. I sighed and grabbed the keys and headed out to the car.

Lissa ran out a few minutes later and we set off for the school. I could feel that this was going to be an interesting day.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9.

As soon as we got to the school, I recognized Mason. He was sitting on the school's front steps scanning the cars. His face lit up when he saw ours. I waved.

"Bye Rose. Have a good day!" I heard Lissa yell after me as I jumped out of the car. "Hey Rose! Why weren't you at school yesterday? I missed your laugh." Mason exclaimed as we walked to first period.

"I was uh sick. Puking every hour." I looked down. I felt bad about lying but I didn't want him to know that I basically spent the whole day crying with Dimitri holding me while I did. He made a cross with his fingers. "Ewww. Germs." He said while grinning. I bursted out laughing. Ok, I missed his humor.

The morning went by just as fast as it had two days ago. Mason and I sat next to each other and talked about every subject known to man. Well, almost every subject.

I couldn't wait for lunch. I was hungry, but I really wanted to see Dimitri again. Did he like me? That thought kept repeating through my mind again and again. He was the one who kissed me, so he has to like me a little. I shook my head. Why was I worrying if he liked me or not? Did I like him? Oh god. I'm becoming paranoid.

The bell for lunch rang. Mason and I walked down to the cafe and got our food and sat at a table. Like two days ago, the table quickly filled up. But there was only one person I really wanted to see. I was soon smiling and laughing at everyone's jokes.

"Good morning Rose." I heard a voice with a Russian accent say behind me. I quickly turned and smiled my biggest smile of the day. "Hey Dimitri." The only open seat was the one next to me so, obviously, he sat down there. Everyone, but Mason, gave Dimitri a smile and a greeting before continuing to joke and talk.

_Oh great. Now Mason's glaring at Dimitri. It's yesterday all over again! Except Dimitri isn't glaring. He's just ignoring him and looking at me. Greatttt._

I sighed before continuing to eat my lunch. "How are you feeling today?" Dimitri whispered to me. I smiled at him before whispering back, "I'm fine. I didn't sleep much last night, but I normally don't anyways." "Why not?"

"I'll tell you later. Promise." He nodded his head. I looked over at Mason. He was looking down at his plate and pushing his food around on it.

"Hey. You ok?" I asked him. "Fine." He muttered. Mason didn't talk to anyone for the rest of lunch. I kept looking over at him, but he was avoiding my eyes.

In our next class, Dimitri sat next to me. "Since when do you sit next to me in class?" "Since you promised to explain to me why you never get much sleep." Dimitri said with a smile on his lips.

"Hmmm. So when you get your answer, you're going to just leave me alone and pretend I'm not here then." He wagged his eyebrows at me. I laughed. "I don't think I'm going to tell you then." I said with a grin. He pouted and gave me puppy dog eyes. "Please." He pouted while trying not to end up smiling. I groaned. "You don't play fair." "I never said I did. But I can promise you I'm all ears." He said while trying to be serious and failing miserably.

I sighed and thought about if it was a good idea for me to tell him. He already knew about the night about how my brother died, so it couldn't hurt to tell him about my nightmares.

I sighed, took a deep breath and whispered, "I have nightmares about the night my brother died. Most of the time Lissa, Christian, or Adrian wake me up, because my screams wake them up. I haven't actually slept a full night's sleep since I got out of the hospital. But even then, the doctors had to give me sedatives to get me too be able to sleep."

I hadn't realized that a few tears had run down my face until Dimitri brushed them away with a finger. "I'm sorry I asked." I looked at him with my eyes still burning ready to say something, but when I opened my mouth, the teacher walked in. Dimitri gave me a pained look and mouthed _later_. I nodded while quickly whipping away a few more stray tears that had escaped down my face.

Once class was over, Dimitri and I walked out the door to our next class. We sat down in our seats. We sat there for a few seconds before he turned to me and said, "I'm sorry again. Is there anything I can do…to, I don't know, help?" I shook my head, "You already have helped enough." I said with a sad smile that he returned.

The rest of the day went by quickly. I was more than ready to go home and keep myself busy. Dimitri stayed by my side as much as he could. I was starting to think he really did care about me even a little bit.

The afternoon bell rang and I walked out of homeroom. I scanned the halls looking for Mason since I didn't get a chance to talk to him after lunch. I kept looking for him as I walked to the parking lot but I didn't see him. I sighed.

"Hey! Whore!" I heard a voice from behind me say. I turned and immediately saw Tasha and Mia. Tasha slowly walked up to me and said, "I thought I told you to stay away from Dimitri." I shrugged. "I remember you telling me to stay away from unavailable guys. And Dimitri, last I checked, was available." Her face turned bright red. It was obvious most people didn't talk back to her. Just as I was about to tell her to fuck off and leave me alone, my history teacher walked down the hallway. Apparently, he could smell a fight.

"Is everything ok here ladies?" he asked as he looked between the three of us. Tasha smiled and nodded. "Everything's fine Mr. Barns. Just needed to clear up a few things with Rose. Remember what we talked about." She pitched the last part low enough for only me to here. She gave Mr. Barns one more smile before turning and strutting down the hall with Mia by her side.

I turned the other way and continued walking out to the parking lot. I internally groaned. Just what I need. A war with Tasha and her friends. Oh well. There was no way I was going to let her stop me from hanging out with Dimitri.

I reached the parking lot and scanned the cars. Huh. No Lissa. That's weird. I checked my phone. I had a text.

_**srry rose cant make it to pick you up cars not workin again can you walk its not far srry luv u c u soon lissa**_

I groaned. "Everything ok?" I heard someone ask from behind me. I turned to face Dimitri. "Ugh. No. Lissa's car broke down again and now I have to walk home. Thankfully it's not far." I grumbled to him. "I can take you home." He said.

"I can't. You've done enough for me already." "Come on. I insist. Like you said it's not far." I sighed and nodded. I could tell there was no point in arguing with him. He wasn't going to give up until I said yes. _Well, it gets me out of walking and I do get to spend more time with him._ I thought guilty to myself.

**Hey! Thanks for all the great reviews and if you did see the review from blg10115743….Sadly, yes, she is my sister and give her a tiny bit of credit, she's doubling as my editor. So obviously the mistakes in the previous chapters will soon be fixed. But not every mistake will be fixed. We're not grammar experts. Again thanks to the people following. I'll try to get the next chapter up tonight. Can't make any promises though. If I do get it up, it will probably be around 8ish since I have to go to my sis' guitar lesson. Boredom! Thanks again. Love you all!**

**-HBR5080**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10.

Sitting in the car with him reminded me of yesterday. His whole car smelled of him. It was intoxicating. It didn't help that I kept reliving the kiss. It took almost all of my self control to not pass out or starting kissing him right there and then.

Wait? Where the hell was this coming from? Do I even want a relationship with someone? Only a few days ago, I had pretty much given up on life and now, because I had met this insanely hot Russian, I wanted to keep going. What the fuck was he doing to me?

We didn't talk during the drive. To me it felt uncomfortable but also comfortable. Ugh. Now I have conflicting feelings. Perfect. I really am paranoid.

He pulled his car up the driveway and put it in park without turning it off. "I'll see you tomorrow right?" he asked. "Wouldn't miss it." I smiled and said thanks as I opened the door. He gave me a smile and a wave when I reached the door. I waved back and headed inside the house.

"Hey Rose. Sorry I couldn't come pick you up. The car…..again. And then Adrian had to leave so he couldn't pick you up. Oh and he wanted me to tell you bye and that he'll see you soon." Lissa rambled. She always did that when she was nervous.

"Ok Liss. What's the matter?" I asked after I watched her pace for about five minutes. "What? Nothing. What gave you that idea?" She laughed nervously. "Well first of all you're pacing and secondly you're rambling."

"No, I'm not." "Come on Liss. Just spill it." She sighed. "I can't." She turned her eyes downward. I just kept staring at her. "Stop staring at me like that! Just because you know it creeps me out, doesn't mean it's going to make me crack." I kept staring.

"Fine! I'll tell you. Just stop staring at me." I broke out in a grin. "I….I think Christian's cheating on me." Ok, now my mouth was hanging open AND I was staring at her. I wasn't trying to creep her out this time, I just thought she was nuts. "Stop! You said you'd stop staring at me if I told you." She yelled at me. I blinked a couple times and took a deep breath.

"Lissa, I think you need to talk to him. There's an explanation. And as much as it pains me to say this, he wouldn't do that. He adores you. Now what exactly did you hear to make you think this." I crossed my arms. There was no way Christian would do that to Lissa.

"I…I went out to the car to go and pick you up. But I forgot my phone so I went back inside. I heard him talking on the phone. I couldn't hear him exactly, but I picked up some of the conversation. But after I heard a few words, I ran outside and drove around the block." I could see tears forming in her eyes.

"I'm sorry! There's nothing wrong with the car. I'm just scared he's going to leave and that he's been lying to me. When I came back he wasn't here. He left a note saying he had to go pick something up and…oh I don't know what to do, Rose!" By this point she was crying uncontrollably. I pulled her into a hug, while rubbing her back and saying "It's going to be ok." Over and over again in a soothing voice. After a while, he sobs quieted and turned to hiccups.

"You probably think I'm a nut." She whispered to me. I scoffed. "No I don't. How many times have I cried these past couple months? If anyone should think someone's a nut, you should be thinking that about me." I released her from the hug and looked her in the eyes.

"Talk to him. That's the only way you'll know the truth. Like you said, you didn't hear the whole thing. It might not be what you think. Ok?" She nodded her head. "Now come on. You need to go lay down." I grabbed her hand and pulled her up the steps. "Rest. Try to get some sleep." I told her as I pushed her down on the bed. She nodded her head and turned over on her side.

I looked at her for one more second before leaving the room. Right now, all my worries and Lissa's were mixed together. They kept circulating. Did Dimitri like me? Was Christian cheating on Lissa? Is he planning on something big? Did I like Dimitri? I clutched my head. Great now I'm giving myself a headache.

"Hey Rose. Can I talk to you for a minute?" I heard behind me. Christian stood behind me looking nervous but excited. "Yeah. Sure. What do you need?" "Do you think you could keep Lissa upstairs until about 6ish. I…um have a special surprise for her." I raised an eyebrow.

"Care to elaborate?" He glared at me, but reached into his pocket and pulled out a small case. My eyes widened. "I just picked it up." He smiled shyly at me as he opened it. Inside was one of the most beautiful rings I ever saw. It looked like a normal engagement ring, with a big diamond. But this one had smaller diamonds and rubies encircling the band.

"Oh my god Christian. She's going to love it." I breathed out. I couldn't believe it. He was going to propose to Lissa. "So can you distract her until then?" He bugged me again. I just nodded my head as I looked at him.

**(Ok. So to anyone who is confused, I changed Christian to her boyfriend in the beginning instead of her fiancé. I couldn't resist adding this in. (: )**

"She's upstairs sleeping. I'll go sit in there so that she doesn't leave the room." He nodded his head. As I turned to go, he grabbed my wrist. "And Rose…..Thanks." He smiled at me. "No problem."

I was giddy inside. Lissa was going to be engaged! Easy Rose. Calm down. You don't want her to pick up on your excitement. She'll know something's up right away.

I got upstairs outside her room and slowly pushed it open. I could tell she was asleep by her slow breathing. I went to the side of the bed and curled up next to her. I stared at the ceiling. I was so tired but I didn't want to sleep. Homework. That will keep me occupied. I quickly ran downstairs to grab my backpack.

I sat down on the bed again and curled up with my history textbook to start "studying" for the test we had tomorrow. I couldn't concentrate though. I was too busy thinking about what the wedding was going to be like. Who they were going to invite, when it's going to be, where, etc.

I sighed and looked down at my text book. _Well, I might as well get this done._


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11.

It was a few minutes before six when I finished my homework. I quietly got off the bed and went downstairs to the kitchen to see if Christian was ready.

I could hardly believe this had been the kitchen I ate meals in. It had been completely changed. There were roses and candles set up everywhere. The lights were turned on to barley anything. I could smell the food as I looked over at the table. Roast. Mmmmmm.

"You're not eating any of this, I hope you know." Explained Christian as he lit a few more candles that were sitting on the counter. I glared at him. "What am I supposed to eat then if I can't eat any of this?" He gave me an exasperated look. "Go out and get something. Here's some money. Go get something to eat and don't be back until eight or nine. And stay in populated areas. No offense, but I don't want you to ruin this night by getting kidnapped."

I rolled my eyes and said, "Gee. Thanks Mom." I grabbed Lissa's car keys and headed out the door. As I turned the car on, I went through the list of places to go for dinner that were close. Red Robin's, no. McDonalds, fuck no! We had just watched a movie about what was in McDonalds' food. I felt like I would puke just thinking about it. I never want to eat at a fast food place again. Outback…..yes. It was about fifteen minutes to the restaurant, so I relaxed and turned up the radio.

When I got there, it was a little bit crowded but not too bad, thankfully. I still had to wait a few minutes before I got a table though. I sat down on one of the less crowded booths and leaned back, as I waited for my buzzer to go off.

After about ten minutes of waiting, I felt my buzzer thing go off. I walked up to the girl up front and gave it back to her. She led me to a table in the back of the room. I sat down and opened the menu and looked at it.

"Hello my name is Mason and I'll be your waiter today. What can I get you to drink?" I quickly glanced up and looked into a familiar face. I smiled and exclaimed, "Hi Mason!" He looked over at me, surprised.

"Rose! Hey. I didn't see you there." He exclaimed while grinning. I could tell he wasn't depressed anymore from lunch.

"I didn't know you worked here." I said to him. "Just started about a month ago. Not the most exciting job but it's good pay. So what can I get you?" I looked down at the menu and ordered the first thing I saw, which happened to be an ice tea and ribs.

Mason smiled at me and said he would be right back with my drink and scurried off towards the kitchen to place my order. I leaned back in the seat and closed my eyes, suddenly tired. _You need a break to get some real sleep._

"Here you go Rose. Your food should be out soon." I looked over at Mason as he set my tea down on the table. "I'd stay and talk with you but I have to get to other tables. You'll be ok?" I nodded my head and smiled happily at him. He smiled back and left to go take care of other people.

I glanced around to see if I recognized anyone else, but I saw no more familiar faces. I sighed and took out my phone to play solitaire.

"Rose?" I heard a clearly Russian accent say from the other end of the booth. I quickly looked up and got lost in Dimitri's brown eyes. I smiled and said, "Hey. What are you doing here?"

"My roommate and his girlfriend where all over each other. I was getting pretty annoying having them kiss while trying to read." He rolled his eyes. "Something about their three month anniversary."

I laughed. "You left because of that? Man, you would never be able to live in my house." I couldn't help the grin that spread over my face. "Lissa and Christian are constantly sucking lips. And they're going to be even worse after tonight. Christian's proposing, so I got kicked out." I rolled my eyes.

He raised an eyebrow but was grinning too. "I'm happy for them. They're really nice people. I could see how much they care for you when I brought you home." I gave him a small smile as I remembered yesterday. God, had it only been yesterday?

"Yeah they're great. One of the kindest people I know. Well when they aren't too wrapped up in each other." I shivered. "I do NOT want to know what they're gonna be doing after he proposes." Now it was Dimitri's turn to laugh. It silently wrapped around me. I kept grinning though, and tried to ignore my body's response to it.

"Oh yeah. I can probably imagine the same is happening over at mine." He grimaced and I again laughed. "You should see your face!" I gasped out between laughs. He really did look hilarious. His face turned into a smile and I slowly stopped laughing.

"Sorry." I mumbled even though I was still grinning. "It's fine. I like hearing you laugh." It was then that I realized that he was still standing with an impatient waitress standing behind him.

"Did you get a table yet?" I quickly asked him. He shook his head and my face lit up. "Sit here then. I promise not to bite." I gave him a mischievous grin.

"I'm not sure that's a promise you can keep." He said right back as he slid in on the opposite side of the booth. He was still smiling. "Hmmmm. You have a good point, but I can try."

The waitress gave us an exasperated look and walked off. I ignored her and focused on Dimitri. He looked good. But then again, he almost always did from what I had seen the past few days.

I looked over toward the kitchen doors and saw Mason walking over with a scowl. He walked over to the table and put my ribs down in front of me.

"Thanks Mason." I said to him. His scowl turned to a sad expression that broke my heart. I instantly felt bad.

He turned to Dimitri to ask him what he wanted. I think he said something about soda and steak but I wasn't sure. I was too busy looking at Mason and the dejected look he wore on his face. He walked off toward the kitchen and I looked down at my food. I suddenly wasn't as hungry anymore but I knew I would be later if I didn't eat now. I grabbed a rib and bit into it.

"Any idea what Lissa and Christian are going to do for their wedding?" Dimitri asked. I looked over at him and swallowed the bite of rib.

"Well-"

And we kept talking. Dinner went pretty fast after that. Whenever Mason came over, I would instantly feel bad, but Dimitri would ask me a question or say something that would bring up my mood. I probably laughed more in those two hours than I had in a long time.

After eating desert, Mason came over and gave us the check. I looked over at him and I was sad. He just looked so dejected. He left and I took the check to figure out how much I owed.

"I'll get it." Dimitri said as he plucked the check out of my fingers. "Hey!" I leaned over and tried-unsuccessfully-to grab the check back. He leaned back and skillfully kept it out of my reach while grinning his face off.

Finally after grappling with him for a few minutes, I leaned back, crossed my arms, and hmmped. He was still smiling as I continued to glare at him. He looked at the check one more time, before opening his wallet and taking out the right amount.

"At least let me leave the tip." I grumbled to him. "Nope." He said as he pulled a ten out and placed it on the table. I glared and took out the money Christian gave me and placed another ten on the table.

Dimitri glanced at me and sighed. He shook his head. "You're not going to listen to me are you?" I shook my head while smiling sweetly at him. I shook his head but he was smiling anyways.

We stood up and walked out to our cars. Surprisingly, we were only a few cars away from each other, but he still walked me over to mine. I unlocked it and was about to open the door when he grabbed my hand and turned me around.

"Wait. I didn't get to say goodnight." He whispered huskily to me, right before he captured my lips in a kiss. I was stunned for a few seconds but I quickly started kissing him back.

It started out sweet and soft but quickly turned hungry. We continued to kiss for a few more seconds before he pulled back. We were both breathing hard. "What was that?" I asked him between gasps. He affected me more than I wanted to admit to myself.

He grinned devilishly. "Your goodnight. I'll see you tomorrow." He gave me a peck on the lips before turning and walking over to the car. I watched him get in and then quickly got into my own car.

I started the car and kept asking myself, are we together now? Does he really like me?

_Ugh. This is going to be a long night._

**Hey guys! I'm so sorry that it took me so long to update. My cat just passed away last week so I haven't been in the best writing mood. And then Christmas being so close doesn't help. I also want to thank everyone for the reviews on the last chapter. I loved them. Because of how busy school is, I can't update every day. So I'm going to start updating every Wednesday. I might **get** a chapter in on a Sunday on occasion. But there will always be a chapter out every Wednesday unless I'm swamped with work. Again thanks for the reviews and….**

**MERRY CHRISTMAS!**

**P.S. These past three chapters are unedited so I apologize if there are mistakes.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12.

I sat up in bed and screamed bloody murder.

I looked around and realized I was only in my room. _Only a dream. It's only a dream._

I flopped back down on my bed and groaned as I tried to slow down my heart beat. I rolled on my side and closed my eyes hoping for a dreamless sleep.

"Rose? Are you ok," Lissa asked while knocking on my door. "I'm fine. Just go back to sleep. Sorry for waking you."

I heard her shuffle down the hall to her and Christian's room. I sighed again as I shoved my face into the pillow. I thought about the past night.

It brought a smile to my face to think about being with Dimitri in Outback. And the goodnight kiss. I guess you could call it a date. But it wasn't really planned. I mentally shook my head. I had thought about this too much in the past few hours.

I forced my mind back to when I got home and how happy and excited Lissa was when I got home. It was actually funny how happy she was. She just kept jumping around and around screaming. Christian was happy too, of course.

I was so thrilled for them. I was glad at least something was going right for them. _Now I just need to stop waking them up every night,_ I silently thought as I fell back asleep into, hopefully, nothingness.

-LAN-

My alarm went off, waking me up with a jump. I slowly got up out of bed and climbed into the shower. The hot water woke me up along with my excitement to get to school to see Dimitri.

I think this is one of the first times I was excited to get to school.

I scrubbed myself repeatedly to make sure I was clean and shampooed my hair with my favorite shampoo. I turned the water off, wrapped a towel around myself, and sprinted over to my closet.

After finding my favorite red shirt, black skinny jeans, and black converse and putting them on, I raced down the stairs for breakfast.

I could already smell Christian's blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes. I raced into the kitchen with a big smile on my face.

"Whoa. Did someone have a goodnight," exclaimed Christian from behind the counter where he was cooking the pancakes. I stuck my tongue out at him, but I wasn't going to let him ruin my good mood.

I went over and hugged Lissa and told them good morning as I sat down at the table. "Why are you in a good mood," asked Lissa. I smiled at her and said, "I'm just happy for you guys." I wasn't lying. I didn't tell the whole reason I was happy but it was part of it.

Talking about Christian proposing brought a smile and a dreamy look on Lissa's face. "I wish you could have been here, Rose. It was so beautiful and-and-and I can't explain it."

"I'm glad you're happy Liss. And as much as I hate to admit it, you to Christian," I said the last part with a grimace. They both smiled at me, well Christian smirked.

I choked down my food quickly so Lissa could drop me off at the school.

-LAN-

I couldn't wait for lunch. I just kept bouncing around in my seat. Mason kept staring at me the whole morning with a small smile on his face. When I would look over at him it would instantly disappear, and he would look away.

In the back of my head I could tell that I did feel bad for him. But I just couldn't concentrate and that made me feel worse.

Finally when the bell rang for the end of the period before lunch, I raced out the door and headed toward the café.

I quickly grabbed my lunch and sat down at the usual table. Eddie was already here, and I said a distracted hello and looked around for Dimitri.

I kept looking around for him until I finally spotted him walking into the café. He looked like he was looking for someone. It took me a second to realize it was _me_ he was looking for.

He quickly came over to the table and said, "Hey there beautiful." I gave him a quick grin and got mesmerized by his eyes as he swooped down and gave me a lingering kiss.

I jumped startled. I didn't think he would kiss me in public but that weirdness quickly turned to happiness and a twinge of embarrassment as I continued to kiss him. I pushed away the last emotion. I shouldn't feel embarrassment about being kiss by a hot guy.

I slowly wrapped my arms around his neck and put my hands in his hair. He growled softly in his throat so I could only hear it. I kissed him with more intensity.

My sluggish brain didn't hear all the whooping and cat calls we were getting until Dimitri pulled away to stare into my eyes, and fully take the seat next to me.

I cheeks felt warm from the kiss and a twinge of embarrassment…..again.

I smiled at him and quickly looked down at my food. I could see Eddie was smiling his face off along with a few others of the people who normally sit at the table. I blushed again. I hadn't even noticed they had sat down.

I looked at everyone at the table and was glad Mason wasn't there. I don't think I wanted to see the disappointment and sadness on his face again.

Lunch went fast after that. Dimitri and I didn't really talk just kept stealing quick glances at each other and making googly eyes at each other.

Whenever one of the guys at the table would catch us staring they would snicker and look at each other and shake their heads. I think at one point I even heard someone mutter, "Yeah, they are soooo goners."

School went quickly. Whenever Dimitri and I would see each other, we would be caught starting at each other.

The final bell of the day went off and I quickly existed and headed to the front of the school for Lissa to pick me up.

I stood at the curb and looked around to see if I could see her.

"How about I take you home," whispered a voice I was coming to love. I turned around and wrapped my arms around his neck and whispered, "Hmmmm. I think I would love that," before capturing kiss mouth is a kiss.

It was the lunch room all over again. I put my hands in his hair and deepened the kiss. Well I started to before the beeping of a car horn startled me and made me turn around.

I turned around to see a grinning Lissa stretched out in the front seat. "Do you need a ride home or are you to busy," she teased. I blushed again.

"Actually we were going to go out for a little bit if that's ok with you."

"Yeah, that's fine. Just please stay in populated areas. Ok," Lissa said and gave me and Dimitri a stern look.

"Yes mother," I answered back with an eye roll. "Rose, I'm serious. Promise me you'll stay in populated areas."

Before I could answer back Dimitri said, "I'll keep her safe and have her back by 8." Lissa smiled and winked at me before pulling out of the parking lot.

"So where are we going since I thought you were only driving me home," I said with a smile. He shrugged his shoulders. "I decided to milk it a little. There's a place I want to show you." He grabbed my hand and we started to head to his car.

I sighed dreamily. If only this day would never end.

**Hey everyone! I know it's been a couple months since I updated. I don't really have much of an excuse, but I want to tell you I'll be updating more often since school work has been pretty light lately, so I'll hopefully have more time to update. Thank you for everyone who reviewed the last chapter. And if you think I'm dragging this out a little too much, I just want to tell you I'll be picking everything up in the next few chapters. **

**I also have a question. Do you want Rose and Dimitri's relationship to go smoothly or do you want me to throw in a few minor fights to make things a little more interesting? Answer back and…..REVIEW!**

**-HBR5080**


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